Winter of My Arendellian Soldier
by ClintonBush43Obama
Summary: This channel was been dormant for so long, but I didn't have anywhere else to put this one. Here is a story about Elsa having a romance with one of the soldiers in her palace guard. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: New Recruit

**Chapter 1: New Recruit**

The Captain of the Guard studied the approved application completed on fresh parchment, then matched it to the face of the youth standing before him. He looked younger than his purported 21 years, at least in the shape of the face. But he was lean, strong as displayed by his training exam, and eager to learn. The recommendation from his training commandant had been glowing.

"You wish to have a challenge, eh?" the Captain of the Guard asked the young lad.

The lad nodded. "I do, sir. I only wish to serve my country and its people. I can think of no better way than to serve the monarchy and guard its sovereignty."

The Captain of the Guard rolled up the parchment and rose from his desk. "Very well. We are seeking to fill a vacancy in Her Majesty's Honor Guard. I will write you a commission for this post at once."

The lad's eyes went wide in surprise and elation. "The Honor Guard? To... protect the Queen?"

The Captain of the Guard smiled at him kindly. "Your superiors tell me you are quite talented. Despite your youth, I have no reason to believe you wouldn't be an asset. But, if you're coming along, we must be on a name basis."

The lad smiled. "My name is Joseph. Joseph Swanson."

"Very well, Private Swanson. I will deliver you to your assignment."

Joseph followed behind his new commanding officer, wondering how he had come to be so fortunate so quickly. He was looking at the outset of a very promising career, and resolved not to waste the opportunity.

* * *

The Captain led Private Swanson into the throne room, where a group of five soldiers dressed in the finest uniforms of the palace congregated about the throne itself. Upon seeing their leader, all five snapped to attention and saluted. "At ease," the Captain ordered. He then gestured to Joseph. "This is Private Joseph Swanson. He will be your sixth comrade from now on."

Joseph found his new brothers-in-arms to be quite friendly, and shook hands with each of them in turn. "May I ask, what happened to my predecessor?"

The guard to his immediate right tsked sadly. "Fellow took ill with a right awful case of syphilis. It was a hard winter." The others nodded sympathetically.

"Yes, and that was without the Queen's influence."

Joseph nodded, smiling as he remembered the stories he heard about Arendelle's beautiful Queen who could conjure ice and snow. "Yes, the Queen: what's she like?"

The Honor Guard's leader, a gray-haired fellow by the name of Corporal Jasper Butrourke, smiled softly. "I have served on this Honor Guard since her Majesty was a small girl, yay big," he gestured to about the height of his knee. "She was guarded and shy as a child, but over these past two years, she has become quite open and kind."

"Since the Great Freeze," another guard explained.

Just then, the double doors off to the side of the throne room swung open.

"Atten-hut!" Butrourke cried in his commander voice. "Present arms for the Queen!"

Joseph stood at attention, sword in one hand and saluting with the other. At that moment, he was glad to be stock-still, for if he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn he had been frozen by much more elemental forces.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle was breathtakingly beautiful. Her white blonde hair cascaded down one shoulder in a nice braid. She wore an azure dress that seemed to be made of the ice and snow itself. Beside him, Joseph felt one of his comrades nudge him subtly in the ribs.

"Ice dress. One of her favorite ensembles," his comrade winked.

Corporal Butrourke saluted the Queen, then gestured directly to Joseph. "Your Majesty, I present to you your sixth protector: Private Swanson. He has just been recruited to the palace."

Elsa regarded Joseph with ice blue eyes, then dipped her head in approval. The tiniest hint of a smile graced her face. Joseph did all he could to not blush.

"Are you ready for your early morning constitution, Your Majesty?" Butrourke asked.

Elsa nodded. "I am. Let us proceed, Corporal."

"About face!" Butrourke wailed. "Forward - march!" Joseph quickly fell into an easy goose-step, high strutting three deep to the Queen's left, with one comrade in the front and one behind him.

"Just to get your feet wet, lad," the soldier who had pointed out Elsa's dress called over his shoulder. "Her Majesty's morning constitution is a quiet event."

The group of soldiers exited the palace and into the courtyard before passing through the gates beyond, heading along the cobblestone streets into the Main Village. Glancing to his right, Joseph could see sunlight glistening over the waters of the harbor, just off of the Children's Pavilion. As they were approaching the fjord - just beyond the hay stalls where most of the palace horses grazed, a man in a hooded cloak suddenly entered the main thoroughfare from a side street. Corporal Butrourke was busy talking in low tones to Elsa, so he didn't react right away as the figure boldly rushed into the Honor Guard's mix, plunging a hand into his robes as he screamed, "PERISH, WITCH!"

Joseph's training took over. Before he could even fully see the weapon being procured from the figure's robes, he had leapt out of his place in line, wrested the blade from the assassin's grasp, and forced him to the ground. A sharp blow to the head with the butt of his spear, and a few swung fists for good measure, and the assassin was being subdued and placed into handcuffs.

"Take him away," Elsa ordered three of the Honor Guard with seemingly no emotion. But as the assassin was hauled off to be detained, Joseph noticed the sad expression that crossed the Queen's face. Only now did she appear slightly shaken. Quite unexpectedly, and to Joseph's great surprise, she turned to him. "You've done well. What's your name, soldier?"

"P... Private Joseph Swanson, ma'am," Joseph stuttered a little. The Queen was actually _speaking_ to him!

"Joseph," Elsa tried out the sound of his name, sending Joseph's heart into a perpetual tap dance. "You're an educated and skilled guardsman. Where did you learn?"

Joseph glanced down shyly. "My father taught me. Retired from the Princess Anna's Honor Guard these last seven years."

Elsa took in this information with interest, flashing Joseph probably the most dazzling smile he had ever seen from her. She even laughed a little. "He taught you well," she praised. "Tell me what else your father has taught you." And she turned with a snap to head back towards the palace.

"Uh, I can read and write Arendellian..." Joseph bumbled, as he fell into step beside her and his pleased commanding officer.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Joseph was expected to be debriefed by the Captain of the Guard and deliver a full report of the incident by the fjord. It was standard protocol, and Joseph followed orders with precision and enthusiasm. Though the circumstances were unspeakable, the Private felt he could not have asked for a more exciting first day on the job.

A day that became even more exciting when Corporal Butrourke approached his new underling on evening rounds with the news that Queen Elsa wished to speak with him in her study.

Nervously, Joseph followed the portable map of the castle to the Queen's study and knocked gently.

"Enter," a soft voice commanded.

Joseph did to find himself in an immaculately tidy study, with bookshelves lining the walls. The Queen was at her desk, going over important documents. Glancing up, she smiled at the visitor.

"Ah, Private Swanson. I've been expecting you." She rose gracefully from her seat, and seemed to almost float as she circled the desk. It took Joseph a moment to turn his focus away from her beauty and to the dagger in her hands. The same dagger confiscated from the attempted assassin that morning. "I was wondering if you could help me identify the make of this blade. You demonstrated clear experience in blocking it during the... incident this morning."

Joseph gingerly took the blade from his Queen. One finger brushed Elsa's palm as he did so, and he slightly shuddered at the electric shock that seemed to pass through his veins. He recovered quickly as he turned the blade over in the light, examining it. Indeed, he did recognize the make right away - it was a Fairbairn-Sykes blade, more commonly known as a fighting knife. Short and thin, but sharp, it could be easily concealed and find its mark rather quickly. Joseph felt fortunate to have stopped the attack. With a weapon of choice such as this, the assassin came closer to killing the Queen than anyone might care to appreciate. Joseph found himself frowning in displeasure at the knife as he studied it.

"I hate these things," he sighed. "I grew up with them."

"Where did you grow up?" Elsa asked.

"In the shantytowns along the fisherman's wharf, about three-quarters of the way around the fjord," Joseph supplied.

_That would be close to the place where I made landfall after crossing the fjord, during the Great Freeze_, Elsa noted to herself. "Have you seen blades like this used in fights?"

Joseph shook his head sadly. "Too many of them. On my stoop. In the woods behind my yard. On the docks across the street. Fighting knives came with the neighborhood where I lived. The poorest of the poor will use just about anything, if they're desperate enough." He focused in on the blade again. "Funny, I wasn't thinking of it... I guess you try to forget those things," and he laughed a little. "You don't use this kind of knife the way that fellow did today. You have to hold it underhanded like this to maintain your best balance. In order to stab downward, say, at the heart, you'd have to change your grip."

"How do you use it?" Elsa inquired curiously.

"Underhanded," Joseph answered readily, then stepped back and stabbed at the air to demonstrate. "Like that. Anyone who's ever used a fighting knife wouldn't handle it any other way."

Elsa dipped her head in acknowledgement. "I must say, Private Swanson... I am quite impressed. And it takes much to impress me. But your background does you credit." Oddly, she glanced away, fingering a hand through her blonde braid - probably a nervous habit, as she murmured, "I am sorry you grew up poor as you did. I hate that Arendelle has any destitute folk at all, and only wish I had more resources at my disposal to help their lot." She shrugged a little, self-deprecatingly. "I suppose I know very little about how the other half lives. My brother-in-law was raised wild by mountain trolls, but that's the closest I can come to understanding what it must feel like. To go without."

Joseph didn't even know how to begin to respond to that, except to say quietly, "None of us poor folk resent you, Your Majesty. The weight of the kingdom rests on your shoulders, but you too are only human. Not every problem can be solved, no matter how much we might wish they could be."

Elsa cocked her head to one side, face contemplative as she considered his words. At last, she nodded. "Thank you, Private Swanson. Your counsel is most heartening."

Joseph flushed at the compliment, and bowed respectfully. "Do you require anything more of me, Your Majesty?"

"No, that will be all, thank you. Dismissed."

Bowing again, Joseph left the Queen's study.


	2. Chapter 2: Growing Closer

**Chapter 2: Growing Closer **

The moon was high in the sky as Joseph patrolled the halls surrounding the Queen's private residence. It was an assignment he rather enjoyed, and felt lucky to have, especially in this winter weather. The palace was warm and quite pretty at night, even in the dark.

Joseph turned the corner onto the main hallway which bisected the Queen's personal bedchambers, keeping himself in lockstep and his eyes alert. As he got near the Queen's door, the moonlight caught the glimmer of what he thought were...

Snowflakes. Flurries of them coming from under the door. And behind the door, he could hear... moaning.

"No... please... stop..."

Joseph's muscles burned, ready for action. That was definitely the Queen's voice. Who knew what could be happening behind that locked door? A nightmare was a high probability, but what if an intruder had gotten in and was harming or raping the Queen? Thinking fast, Joseph tentatively called out, "Your Majesty?" When he got no answer, he proceeded to pick at the lock with the tip of his spear. Hearing a click, he kicked the door in and burst into the bedchambers.

Elsa was writhing on her bed, moaning with her eyes shut. Joseph could barely see her through the blizzard that was consuming her. Steeling himself, the private bravely advanced towards the bed, even as hailstones the size of bricks pelted him and the snow flurries nearly covered him and froze his skin.

Joseph finally made it to Elsa's bedside, and reached out a hand to shake her. The Queen stirred, emerging into the conscious world, and just like that, the blizzard faded away. Still not quite sure where she was, Elsa saw the dark form looming over her bed and opened her mouth to scream. Impulsively, Joseph clapped a hand over her mouth.

"It's me, it's me, it's me! It's Joseph Swanson!" Joseph whispered desperately.

Elsa squeaked behind his hand, eyes wild, but eventually relaxed. She eyed him confusedly. "How did you get in?"

"I... I heard you crying out, and I thought you might be in danger. So I... picked the lock. Excuse my intrusion, milady."

Elsa nodded, then she peered closer. "What happened to your face?"

Joseph flicked a finger along his cheek, to find that it was bleeding from a gash. "Hailstone, ma'am. It's nothing."

Elsa looked mortified. "It's not nothing," she insisted. "I'm sorry, Joseph..."

"No apology necessary... Elsa," Joseph replied. He winced, remembering his place too late, but Elsa didn't seem to notice.

Just then, candlelight appeared in the room, as Princess Anna rushed in wearing a nightgown. Right behind her was the Captain of the Guard and Corporal Butrourke.

"Elsa! Are you all right?" the princess ran to embrace her.

"I'm fine," Elsa reassured her sister, smiling at Joseph over her shoulder. "Go back to bed, Kristoff needs you." A reluctant Anna left, leaving Elsa with her soldiers.

"Captain," Elsa commanded.

"Ma'am?" the Captain of the Guard stood at attention.

"See to it that Private Swanson is posted at the door to my chambers hereafter. He is to be commended for his quick thinking."

"Very good, my Queen. I shall have him and a partner act as sentries at your door from dusk until dawn."

"Excellent," Elsa approved the plan. "You may leave me in peace. Dismissed, gentlemen."

* * *

From then on, Joseph's job consisted of guarding the Queen and her bedchambers by night. Private Raymond Whitlock, a fellow Honor Guardsman and close friend, was the other soldier assigned to the post.

Elsa did not have many nightmares as the weeks went on - at least, not as many as she had had before, Princess Anna explained. The assignment allowed Joseph to get to know the princess for the first time, who was a frequent visitor to Elsa's room, even in the middle of the night to check on her.

"I think she feels safer with guards outside her door," Anna theorized kindly. Joseph tried not to think about how much his intercession and presence had something to do with it. Raymond was less introspective - it was an assignment by order of high command, and if it worked, who was he to question why?

Joseph's post also meant that he got to bid Elsa good night in the evenings, and welcome her to a new day each morning. The conversation they engaged in outside her door soon became relaxed, comfortable, the way two friends might speak, and not a Queen and her bodyguard.

Such was it one morning with the sun high in the sky. Though Joseph's official post stipulated that he was to stand outside the royal bedchambers from dusk to dawn, the implied policy was not to relieve yourself of duty until the Queen exited her chambers for the day. Across from him, Raymond was resorting to practicing his squats to keep the circulation in his legs flowing, to say nothing of how his stomach kept rumbling for breakfast quite loudly.

At last, the doorknob turned and Joseph and Raymond stood at attention. Elsa came out in a hurry, looking flustered.

"I apologize, gentlemen, for keeping you waiting. Relieved of your post - you must be starving!"

"Not at all, Majesty," Raymond fibbed smoothly, though he cast her a grateful look before breaking formation and practically running for the kitchens.

Joseph chuckled. "That Raymond - always thinking with his stomach!"

"You too, Joseph," Elsa shooed with a smile.

"I am not hungry just yet, my liege," Joseph smiled. "Good morning, by the way. What is on the agenda?" He fell into an easy step beside her as she started off at a brisk walk for her study.

"A giant stack of commissions to be approved. More soldiers are needed to bolster the front lines." Wesleton had been proctoring a war against Arendelle for the past year, no doubt fueled by its Duke's desire for revenge after the events of the Great Freeze. Though Elsa viewed war as a last resort, her desire to protect her family, kingdom and people compelled her to act. "And I'm late as it is!"

"A Queen is never late, everyone else is simply early," Joseph recited an old adage he had been taught.

Elsa paused, and blinked, amused. "Who told you that?"

"My father," Joseph smiled. "Though his phrasing was, _'The Princess is never late, everyone else is simply early.'_"

Elsa smiled back. "Anna has always been a late riser. She often sleeps through Kristoff leaving for work, most mornings." Joseph had never met the Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer and Prince Consort personally, but hoped to one day. "In any case, even she should be up by now. Anna's helping me with the seals for these commissions. She is a very good dollop waxer."

Joseph frowned, snorting a little. "That's a thing?"

Elsa shrugged. "In Anna's mind, yes, it is." They arrived at the entrance to her study. "This is me," Elsa smiled softly.

Joseph bowed. "Best of luck today, Your Majesty. Good day to you," and he strode off towards the kitchen, though still in formation, as Elsa stared after him.


	3. Chapter 3: Commissioned

**Chapter 3: Commissioned **

The stack of commissions was indeed high. But Anna's chippy demeanor convinced Elsa that she could get it done. Working together, the sisters worked up a funneling system to get them out: sign the commission, fold and envelope, wax the seal, then stamp the royal seal on the back. It got to a point where Elsa was less careful in reading who precisely was being commissioned to the front lines against Weselton. Though she would rather not send any young Arendellian men and boys off to war at all, she had little choice in the matter. She tried not to let the military burials of fallen veterans bother her so much, which she attended every few weeks. But those closest to her, like Anna, could tell that these deaths did weigh heavily on her mind.

By the time the last commission was signed and sealed, it was close to dinnertime. They slumped in their chairs, exhausted, before Elsa nudged Anna along. "Come on, Kristoff is probably waiting for us." After their meal, Elsa retired to her bedchambers for the night, escorted by Anna and seen inside by Joseph and Raymond.

"Good night," she smiled gratefully to Joseph.

"Pleasant dreams, Majesty," Joseph smiled back. The door closed behind her with a click.

"Good night, Elsa!" Anna called through the wood. Then, turning to Joseph, she said flatly and with no preamble. "Elsa likes you. I can tell."

Joseph quickly tried to cover his shock by chuckling. "Your opinions are most amusing, Your Highness."

"Hmm. But they're also true," Anna observed. Winking at the Private, she skipped down the hall towards her own bedchambers where her husband awaited.

All that night, Joseph spent his post wondering just what the Princess meant, wink included.

* * *

Elsa rose with the dawn, exiting her bedchambers still in her nightgown. It was a Sunday, the day of rest. Many Arendellians were very strong in their faith, and it was accepted throughout the land that the Lord's Day was meant to truly be a day of rest and leisure. Even for the Queen.

Stifling a yawn, Elsa turned to Joseph with a tired smile. "Good morning, Joseph."

Joseph glanced from the piece of paper he had been passed in the middle of the night and up to his Queen. "Good morning, Your Majesty."

"What's that you've got there?" she teased.

Joseph cleared his throat and presented the envelope to her. "A summons. I am to be commissioned to the front lines against Weselton this very night."

Recognizing the just-dry royal seal on the back of the envelope, Elsa paled. This had to be from the very batch she and Anna had completed just yesterday. She cursed herself for not reading the names of who was being shipped out as well as she should. "Joseph... I'm so sorry. I... I will ask that you be reassigned at once."

"You will do no such thing!" Joseph chided boldly. Behind them, an all-but-ignored Raymond cocked an eyebrow at Joseph speaking out of turn. "Beg pardon, milady, but I live to serve my Queen, in whatever capacity that she may deem proper. Although, I must confess... I will miss you being the last thing I see at night, and the first when the sun rises in the morning."

Elsa blushed, even as her eyes filled with tears. "I... will miss you too." She turned sadly away, then spun back. "You do not have to do this," she warned. "I can speak to Corporal Butrourke..."

"And make it seem as though you are favoring one soldier over all the others?" Joseph cut across her. "It would not do, Your Majesty." He flashed her his bravest grin. "I'll be OK."

Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat, then fled from the hall. Joseph glanced across to Raymond (who had not been assigned a commission). "Train my successor well."

Raymond nodded. "She will be safe," he promised, though that had not been the direct answer to Joseph's request. Saluting each other, the two guardsman relived themselves of their post to seek out an early breakfast.

* * *

Joseph's feet almost carried him to the Queen's bedchambers that night, out of habit, until he remembered that he was being sent into battle. He reported to his new commanding officer, and the battalion moved out to set up camp in the Arendellian foothills. It was where they would camp, just for tonight, before crossing over the mountains to join their brothers at the front lines.

Every soldier was assigned their own personal tent, each with a window built in. Joseph deposited his rucksack onto the simple cot, and tried to settle down to sleep, but thoughts of battle and other morbid dwellings made sleep elude him.

It was late when Joseph heard the whinny of a horse pierce the night, somewhere very close to his tent. Strange. The horses were stabled for the night, on the far side of camp. Curious, Joseph poked his head out his tent, to see that the horse was halted right in front of his abode, and its cloaked rider was dismounting. A hood covered his face.

"What brings you here, stranger?"

"I had to see you again," came the reply.

Joseph frowned. He had not seen this person before, though the voice sounded oddly familiar. Peering closer, he caught the outline of the figure's face by the light of some nearby lanterns. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked like the Queen..." Then it all clicked. "You _are_ the Queen!" he gasped, and made to fall to his knees before her. Elsa caught his arms.

"Oh, get up!" she pleaded, casting aside her cloak, revealing her signature ice blue dress. "I am no Queen here. The Commandant of this encampment directed me to your tent."

Joseph blinked as he took in her words. What they meant. "You came to say goodbye to me," he breathed softly. "Why?"

Elsa turned beet red in the lantern light, eyes nervous, wringing her hands. "I... I..."

Deeply touched that she had come all this way, Joseph forgot himself. Sweeping the Queen into a dip, he passionately kissed her on the mouth. After a moment, he felt Elsa's body fall limp in his embrace. Swinging her back onto her feet, they broke apart.

Elsa stumbled out of the kiss, looking dazed. She gazed at Joseph as if she had never seen him before. "You just kissed the Queen of Arendelle," she whispered. It took her voicing this to remind Joseph what the hell he had just done.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I lost my head!" he pleaded as Elsa grabbed for his lapels, her face appearing hard. "I..."

Elsa's face eased for just a second, right before she rammed her lips up against Joseph's and kissed him back. Arms encircling each other, soldier and monarch stumbled back into his tent...

* * *

Elsa felt Joseph's finger tilt her head up slightly before touching his lips to hers. Swinging her arms about his neck, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss with passion. The couple fell back onto Joseph's cot, the soft sheets catching the Queen like a cradle.

As if by instinct, Elsa spread her knees wide, opening her legs enough for Joseph to settle between them. Once he was cocooned there, she squeezed her thighs around his middle. His eyes locked onto hers, his mouth agape, she flushed self-consciously.

"I've... not done this before," she admitted.

Joseph was so in awe of her - and nothing had really even happened yet! - that he blurted out, "That can't be true."

Elsa frowned adorably. "Why would I lie?"

Joseph shrugged, conceding the point. "Noted." Dipping his head, he kissed her lazily and felt his manliness give a violent twitch when he heard Elsa moan into his mouth. "Mmmmm..."

Joseph began trailing kisses down Elsa's face and neck, to her collarbone. Bypassing her still maddeningly clothed chest for the time being, Joseph's mouth found the slit of her dress. Ducking his head through it, he brought his head in between her thighs and rubbed it up against her. Elsa gasped sweetly, squeezing her legs around him to keep him anchored.

She felt Joseph peel away her lace knickers. Admiring the swedish-blonde patch of hair along her pink mound of femininity, he plunged inside with his tongue, as far as it would go. It was slimy inside, filled with the moisture of Elsa's pleasure. She rode against him, making the cot creak dangerously.

Unable to stand it any longer, Elsa began to tug at Joseph's pajamas in a very unladylike fashion. She nearly ripped his pajama bottoms and underwear away, clasping his shaft in her palm, stroking it. Yanking Joseph up higher on top of her, she pressed her lips to the head before diving forward and taking him whole in her mouth. Joseph groaned and bucked against her, the Queen's lips curling into a smile as his organ expanded in her mouth, tip touching the back of her throat. She finally released him with a small pop, and Joseph wriggled back down so that their bodies were in perfect alignment. Elsa wriggled out of her dress, and Joseph helped her, casting the garment aside.

They were now both naked. Elsa and Joseph's eyes locked. She smiled weakly and managed to croak out one word, arching against him.

"_Please_..."

Joseph smiled down at her with love. "As my Queen commands." Then, oh so gently, he pushed his way inside of her. The initial pain made her cry out, and a startled Joseph clapped a hand over her mouth. Once settled in, he began to squirm about inside her gently, thrusting ever so slightly. His movements seemed uncertain, which made Elsa wonder if they were both new at this.

Joseph penetrated deeper and deeper, growing in confidence. Elsa was screaming and moaning her lungs out in ecstasy, the cute little sounds emanating into Joseph's hand. She squirmed and thrashed, trying to get closer as Joseph slowly started to pick up his pace. All Joseph could hear were muffled pleas.

"Mmmm... mmmm... mm! Mmmmmm!"

She raised her hips as high as she could, until she realized that Joseph had been in control for far too long, and she had had enough of it. Pressing her hand into his chest, Elsa pushed, flipping them both so that Joseph slammed back into the mattress, and she swung one leg over his waist to straddle him. Dipping her head, Elsa kissed him softly, encouragingly guiding his wandering hands to the dip and swell of her breasts, glowing in the moonlight. Remembering some gossip that Anna had passed on to her, Elsa slowly began to roll her pelvis, swaying her hips and rocking against him. Joseph's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he moaned her name so sweetly.

"Elsa... oh, Elsa..."

Smiling in pleased approval, Elsa bent her face low over his ear. "I love you," she whispered.

That did it.

Joseph came with a roar, spewing his seed up inside the Queen's loins. Gripping Elsa's hips, he rasped out an order for her to bounce up and down on him, wanting her to reach climax too. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, he supposed. Elsa bounced along Joseph's shaft, mewling and tittering adorably, her bare bum jiggling. The sexy noises she made soon became so insistent that Joseph had no choice but to clap his hand across her mouth again, fearing someone might hear.

"Uhhhh... Huhhh... Mmmmmmm... HMMMMMMM!" Elsa squealed as she exploded all around her lover. Wilting like a flower, her own irises rolling into the back of her skull, she collapsed on top of Joseph's bare chest, pressing a kiss into his nipple.

Before she succumbed to sleep, she heard Joseph mumble, "I love you too."

* * *

The sky was barely awake, just grey, when Elsa and Joseph were awoken to the changing of the guard for the night sentries. Taps was probably an hour away, at most. Quickly, the couple roused themselves and frantically dressed. Sighing, Elsa melted into her soldier's arms. "I wish I could go with you!"

"Don't say such things," Joseph murmured. "Besides, you will be with me." And he pointed to his heart.

Elsa smiled, blushing. "When will I see you again?"

"I know not. Only that we _will_ see each other again." Joseph pecked her lips lightly.

Elsa bit her very kissed lips before waving a hand. A pendant, shaped like a snowflake, appeared out of thin air, complete with a chain. "Wear this for me," she requested, hanging it about his neck. "It will bring you good fortune."

Joseph dipped his head, beaming. "I will never take it off, and carry it with me always."

Elsa's ice-blue eyes searched his. Then, draping her arms about his neck, she reached up and kissed him wildly on the lips with all the passion she could muster. It was several moments before she drew away. "Goodbye, Joseph," she got out through her threatening tears.

"Goodbye, Elsa, my love," Joseph replied.

Throwing her cloak back on, Elsa stole out of the tent, mounted her horse and galloped away.

* * *

The sun was just rising over the hills as Elsa thundered back into the palace courtyard and entered the castle. To her surprise, she found Anna waiting for her when she got back to her chambers. Her little sister cocked an eyebrow, looking concerned at best and displeased at worst.

"Where have you been?" she pointed to Elsa's nightgown, still hanging over a nearby chair as her servants had left it. "Gerda said you never took to your bed last night."

The thought of bed and last night made Elsa involuntarily flush. And Anna noticed. "Well, out with it. Where did you go?"

Elsa turned to her vanity, not wanting to meet Anna's eyes as she confessed: "I went to visit the troops before they left for the front lines."

"You mean you went to visit Joseph," Anna guessed. Elsa nodded almost imperceptibly. "Well, what happened?"

"He kissed me." Her voice was simple, flat.

Anna gasped. A pause, waiting for more, but nothing came. "And?"

Elsa gulped, remembering the magical night they had shared. "... I kissed him back."

Anna let out something that sounded like a squeal. "_And_?"

"And... I went into his tent and... I made love to him."

That was when Anna practically started cheering. Her older sister was in love, with the man she had hoped it was all along! "Was he good to you?"

Elsa nodded, her voice now completing its transformation to regal, correct. "Private Swanson was an officer and a gentleman and he made love to me as one." The monotone of her voice was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears.

After a moment, she felt Anna's hand on her shoulder. "I'm so happy for you," her little sister confessed. Pecking her cheek, Anna vowed, "This stays between us. I won't even tell Kristoff."

Elsa nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Anna."

And the Princess left her alone. As soon as she was gone, Elsa allowed herself to come apart, throwing herself onto her bed with wracking sobs. She didn't regret last night for anything, but she did despair that she had now lost the man she had fallen in love with.

Would she ever see Joseph again?


	4. Chapter 4: Left Behind

**Chapter 4: Left Behind**

It was hard to read the words on the page, and she had to turn her face away so that her furious tears did not smudge the ink on the parchment.

The Captain of the Guard had reported to her bedchambers one morning, about six weeks after Elsa and Joseph made love together in the private's tent. He had delivered a letter to her, addressed in handwriting that Elsa did not recognize. But then, the Captain said these words:

"Private Swanson asked that this be delivered to you, ma'am. Receive it so." Elsa accepted it nervously, finding no hint in the Captain's eyes regarding her secret lover's fate. His expression was blank, but there seemed to be just the faintest hint of... struggle.

Locking herself in her chambers, Elsa opened the envelope with shaking hands. Her eyes swept over the first line, then the second, before she collapsed to the floor with a wail, the floodgates opening for her tears to stream freely down her cheeks.

Joseph had written her a farewell love letter, to be sent to the Queen in the event of his death on the front lines. He would be forever grateful for the night they had shared, he wrote, for he considered it an honor to be made love to by a Queen. And he promised that they still would see each other again... in heaven.

Elsa went into mourning, wearing all black over the next several days. Except for taking her meals, she shut herself up in her room and asked to be left in peace. She refused to see anyone, with the exception of Anna, who at least knew the situation.

* * *

It had started a week or two before Elsa had received Joseph's posthumous letter.

At first, the Queen had blamed it on something she ate. Then, an illness. Elsa usually didn't get colds, but stomach bugs had happened before. Except Elsa had never had a stomach bug that refused to abate like this one.

It was only when she felt herself become more and more fatigued, often in the middle of work, that she began to suspect. And when she felt the changes taking over her body - her breasts swelling as they became laden with a nursing mother's milk - that she became all but certain.

One morning, about a month after Joseph's death, Elsa requested that she receive Anna in her study alone. Upon entering, her baby sister lacked her usual verve, not bouncing on her toes they way she often did whenever she went... well, anywhere. Now, the Princess appeared more subdued, wary. Almost as if she knew what was coming.

Still, that didn't stop Anna from looking stunned when Elsa's solemn gaze met hers and she announced, "There is life with me. I am with child."

Anna collapsed into an easy chair by the fireplace, mind reeling. After a long minute or two, she glanced up to her sister.

"It's his, isn't it?"

Elsa gulped, her eyes watering. "Yes," she whispered. As if it was anyone else's!

Just then, the study door banged open, and a familiar mop of blonde hair poked his head through the door.

"Anna, there you are! I've been looking..."

"Get in here!" Anna hissed, eyes wide with panic as she all but dragged Kristoff into the study, glancing about furtively as she locked the door behind her. "And what are you doing here?" She was annoyed that the Queen had in any way been disturbed.

But behind her, Elsa's voice was gentle. "It's all right, Anna - he's the uncle, he has the right to know."

Kristoff's brow furrowed as he frowned deeply. "What? I'm not following..."

Anna ignored him, staring at Elsa carefully. "You trust him?"

Elsa sent an affectionate smile Kristoff's way. "With my life, sister."

Kristoff looked as though he had been struck between the eyes. In any event, he appeared deeply moved by Elsa's fond trust. "Will someone please tell me what this is all about?"

Elsa smirked weakly. "Congratulations, reindeer man. You're going to be an uncle."

Kristoff gaped. "How... who...?"

Anna interrupted him. "He was a soldier in Elsa's Honor Guard several months back. He was sent to the front lines against Weselton the month before last."

Kristoff picked up on the use of the past tense. "Was...?"

Elsa bowed her head forlornly. "We died on the battlefield. About a month ago."

Kristoff's face fell. "Oh, Elsa..." he sighed. "I'm so sorry..." He didn't ask how the passionate love affair had started, or when Elsa and Joseph came together. Elsa appreciated that her brother-in-law reserved judgment. But all Kristoff could think about was what came next, his mind whirring. He frowned again. "This is going to get out eventually," he warned his sister-in-law. "Your Council is going to start asking questions, never mind the people. What do we say when they do?"

"You let me worry about that," Elsa told him briskly. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Besides, they'll have their heir, won't they? Who the little one's father is won't matter."

"It'll matter to _some_," Anna pointed out. "Like the Council. Kristoff's right, they will be suspicious."

"As I said, I will handle it," Elsa repeated flatly. "Meanwhile, I want both of you to help me when I need it. Otherwise, don't worry your heads over me or my baby. But Kristoff -" and she fixed the Ice Master with a hard stare. "You can't tell anybody what you know."

Kristoff gawped. "You think I would betray my family?" And he actually sounded affronted. "What kind of man do you take me for?"

Elsa smiled. "A man who is more than worthy to be my sister's husband." She kissed him on the cheek, and then glided out into the hall towards her chambers, humming as she went, almost subconsciously clutching her as-yet unpronounced abdomen.

Kristoff stared after her, then glanced back to his wife, only to find her tackling him and planting a wild kiss on his lips. "What was that for?" he breathed when they finally broke apart.

Anna grinned softly. "For nothing. Everything," she rambled. "This baby is going to be very lucky... Uncle Kristoff."

Kristoff beamed with love. "Only because it will be doted on by Auntie Anna."

"Hmm," Anna mused with a smile. "I like the sound of that."


	5. Chapter 5: Five Years Later

**Chapter 5: Five Years Later**

The light streaming into the window of the Queen's bedchamber was a light gray, muffled by the overcast clouds and lightly falling snow outside. Just then, a little head with black curls peeked over the down comforter of Queen Elsa's bed, before clambering onto the mattress.

"Mama!" The little girl sat astride her mother's sleeping form and began to lightly shake her. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Josey..." Elsa mumbled sleepily. "Go back to sleep..."

"I can't!" Josephine moaned dramatically, flopping across Elsa. "The _sky's_ awake! So _I'm_ awake! So we have to _play_!" Elsa still marveled at how much Josephine had inherited her aunt's personality. "Besides, it's Christmas and we have to build a snowman on Christmas!"

"We can build one when the sun is up," Elsa promised, grabbing for her daughter and tickling her. "Come, lie here with me. Auntie Anna, Uncle Kristoff and the baby will be awake in an hour or two, and then we can head downstairs for presents."

Mother and daughter held each other in the graying, fading darkness. "I love Christmastime," Josephine sighed happily. "We get presents, and build snowmen, and Olaf sings Christmas carols..."

"Off-key," Elsa threw in under her breath.

"And we celebrate Jesus's birthday!" Josephine finished. She fell silent for a moment, before asking, "Mama?"

"Yes, my little snowflake?"

"Is Daddy up there with Jesus?"

Elsa swallowed back the lump in her throat. It may have been half a decade - the anniversary of his death would be approaching after the first of the year - but she still missed Joseph, the father of her child, each and every day. "He is," Elsa promised their daughter. At least, that was what she wished.

Josephine smiled. "He was a soldier," she recited, prompting her mother to tell her the story she had heard since she was a baby.

Elsa nodded. "He was a soldier," she repeated. "In my honor guard. He then served on the front lines in the Wesleton-Arendelle war... which we won."

"But Daddy went up to heaven to be with Jesus," Josephine finished.

Elsa nodded again, more solemnly. Glancing to the window, she could see the sun beginning to poke its rays over the mountains just beyond. "Auntie and Uncle are probably up. You wanna open some presents?"

Josephine grinned toothily. "Yeah!" And she leaped off the bed, scampering for the door. Rising languidly from her bed, Elsa donned a bathrobe over her simple nightgown and followed.

Descending the staircase, Elsa found Josephine already at the foot of the Christmas tree in the Great Hall, chatting animatedly with her Uncle Kristoff. Sven was using his snout to boost Olaf up to the top of the tree, where the magical snowman placed the star. Anna now glided into the hall, her hair a rumbled mess and holding a toddler in her arms.

"Josey!"

"Joan!" Josephine beamed at her little cousin. Joan was almost three, and certainly not a baby anymore, but nevertheless, the habit of referring to her as the baby of the family stuck. Elsa had been overjoyed to learn that Anna had fallen pregnant when Josephine was about two.

"Presents!" Josephine squealed, diving for the piled stash under the tree. Elsa held her back.

"Josephine Swanson," she scolded lightly. "You know we have to wait for everyone to select a present before we open."

Josephine nodded sheepishly. "Yes, Mama."

* * *

The presents were glorious and thoughtful, and many hugs and kisses and thanks were given. Before long, Josephine and Joan (and Olaf) had all begged Elsa to go outside and play in the snow and build snowmen.

That is where Elsa now found herself on this Christmas morning, watching the royal little ones play in the snow of the castle courtyard. The Captain of the Guard appeared by her side on the front stoop.

"Your Majesty!" he clicked his heels together and stood at attention. "All quiet during the night; nothing to report."

Elsa smiled gently. "Thank you, Captain." He had been a loyal officer to her these many years, all set to retire at the summer season. The Captain now joined the Queen in watching the children and Olaf play, his gaze fixated particularly on Josephine. All at once, Elsa heard the Captain gasp.

"She's... Joseph Swanson's. Isn't she?" Elsa gaped at him, too stunned to deny it. She nodded slowly, amazed that he had figured it out.

"How...?"

The Captain smiled sadly. "I never forget a soldier. I remember each and every one of my men, Your Majesty. And the skills that boy had..." he shook his head. "I don't get such qualified recruits too often." He turned his head to look directly at Elsa. "Your secret is safe with me, my Queen."

Elsa tamped down the lump in her throat. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Mama, Mama!" Josephine suddenly came running up. "Can you make a present with your magic? To take over to Grandpa at Fisherman's Wharf?"

Elsa smiled. "Of course, precious." Harold Swanson, the former Commander of Anna's Honor Guard and Joseph's father, had been stunned to learn that his son had fathered the heir to the Arendelle throne.

"I loved your son," Elsa had told the old man on her first visit, an infant Josephine in her arms who looked the spitting image of her father. "And this is his child. Will you have us?"

She need not have asked. Harold had warmly accepted Elsa as a daughter, and was thrilled to have a grandchild in Josephine. He seemed to view it as an honor, to have ties of blood to the royal family whom he had served at the peak of his career. From time to time, the Queen and her daughter would travel around the fjord to visit him in the shantytown village along Fisherman's Wharf where he still lived and where Joseph had grown up. The old man had vowed to take the secret of the little, future Queen's origins to his grave.

The Captain of the Guard had now joined Harold, Kristoff, Anna and Elsa in that elite group who knew of Josephine's heritage. It wasn't for others' lack of trying to find out the answer. As Elsa had predicted, when her pregnancy was revealed, the Council had demanded to know who the father was, and if he was of royal blood. Really, the answer to the latter question had been all they cared about, and Elsa had refused to give up her Joseph. All she would say on the matter was that she had been swept into a romantic, passionate affair that had come to a close. And that was the end of it; no matter how much her Council or subjects pressed, Elsa refused to budge. Eventually, the little heir's birth had caused so much euphoria that people stopped asking. Or if they still wondered, they didn't care. Arendelle had an heir and the health of the monarchy was assured for decades; besides, the little monarch had royal blood by virtue of her mother. Even if the father was not of royal blood (and there were those who had theorized this), what was done was done and by now, most everyone presumed that the father was either long gone or long dead. No one had seen Elsa with a man, or any man with the little monarch, her child.

Elsa still missed Joseph deeply, and had vowed long ago that she would never marry, or even ever love again. She had secretly taken Joseph's last name - Swanson - but only in private; not even her royal signature on any official palace documents bore the surname. Only Kristoff and Anna knew of this last act of faithfulness, this small monument of fidelity, and had made it clear that they understood Elsa's reasoning. For Elsa, it was a pang in her heart, a painful reminder of what she had lost.

Yet at the same time, Joseph had blessed her with a great gift - a child whom she could mother. Someone who she could love and be there for her whole life, in a way she hadn't been for Anna. And as Elsa looked up at the winter sky, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

_Well done, my good and faithful soldier_, she thought. _Rest now, Joseph, my love. I will be with you. Someday. _


End file.
